The younger sister of a teenage girl who died in a horror car crash on her way to see Taylor Swift is ‘not out of the woods yet’ as she recovers in hospital. 

Mieka Pokarier, 16, was killed when the SUV she was travelling in with her mother and sister collided with a semi-trailer near Dubbo, in central-west NSW at around 6pm on Thursday.

The teen’s 10-year-old sister Freya was airlifted from the scene on Dunedoo Road at Ballimore and rushed to Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney, suffering brain injuries, a damaged pelvis and a broken leg.

Swift, who played her fourth show in Melbourne on Sunday night, has been made aware of the horror crash, Daily Mail Australia understands.

The girls’ godmother Karleigh Fox said Freya would remain in an induced coma for several days in an update on a GoFundMe page raising money for the family.

‘We had some thorough chats with the incredible doctors about the potential prognosis, and we are not out of the woods yet with risks of swelling in the brain and infection still evident,’ Ms Fox wrote on Saturday night.

‘This could still be life-threatening.’

She will remain in a coma to give her body a chance to stay still and hopefully recover as much as possible’, her godmother wrote.

Ms Fox said the family was preparing for when Freya regained consciousness.

‘We will then see a whole lot of anxiety and distress from her and potential carer burnout for Mama, as that’s the person our girl is going to want the most,’ she said.

Ms Fox said the girls’ mum, Kim Litchfield, was ‘still very sore, bruised up and slow’ but was supporting Freya by her bedside along with her father, Peter Pokarierand.

She earlier recalled how excited Mieka was to get on the road for the ‘trip of a lifetime’ to see Swift perform in both Sydney and Melbourne.

‘They spent like up to eight hours refreshing to try and get tickets, they’re really dedicated, and they were stoked to get tickets for both shows in Melbourne and Sydney,’ she said.

The tragedy has not really sunk in yet for Ms Fox.

‘It just kind of feels like Mieka might be staying at someone’s house and I think it’s really going to hit us… when we got home. The reality of it that she’s not coming back, she told Nine News.

‘Then to make a big holiday, it was supposed to be an 11 day road trip to catch up with friends and see the sights.’

Ms Fox said her ‘smart and creative’ goddaughter was a long-time Swiftie.

‘She’s been a Taylor Swift Fan for over 10 years, and she loved maths, she loved pottery, she was always making people things with pottery and going to classes,’ she said.

‘She was very talented, she’s always been into creating loom bands and friendship bracelets.’

Swift’s fans, known as Swifties, swap self-made bracelets with each other

Many are now making them in honour of Mieka, with her name on them.

Ms Fox added that Mieka and Freya were Swift ‘super fans’.

‘We have just had Taylor on repeat for the last 10 years. How her music just changed these girls, like empowered them, gave them self-confidence, gave them hope, especially through Covid times, they were really hard times for kids.’

Mieka had been listening to Swift’s music when tragedy struck as the family drove  to Melbourne from Queensland to see Swift on the Australian leg of her Eras tour.

The screen of Mieka’s iPad, which was eerily unscathed in the crash, showed she had Swift’s song All of the Girls You Loved Before playing in the moments before she died.

‘When we opened the iPad, that was heartbreaking. Mieka’s cat’s name is Mr Perfectly Fine, which is a song of Taylor’s,’ Ms Fox said.

The song Mieka had been listening to as part of her playlist for the trip was recorded during sessions for Swift’s 2019 album Lover, but was only released in March 2023 to mark the global launch of the tour Mieka was so excited to see.

Ms Litchfield, who was driving the SUV, sustained several injuries in the crash and was taken to Dubbo Hospital.

The driver of the semi-trailer had minor injuries and was also taken to Dubbo Hospital in a stable condition.

Ms Litchfield has been released from hospital and has also made the mercy dash to Sydney to be ‘reunited with her baby’.

‘We are playing her favourite Taylor Swift album 1989 Taylor’s Version on repeat in her room and telling her about the merch we are seeing people buying on line,’ Ms Fox posted online.

‘It takes five people just to roll her to check for marks which could turn to bed sores from being in the same position in her induced coma.’

Ms Fox said the family was struggling to ‘navigate even just learning the layout of the hospital, process the complex trauma to our little one’s organs and process the deep loss of our 16 year old’.

Mieka was understood to have been sitting in the front passenger seat when the crash occurred.

On Saturday, Mieka and Freya’s father, Peter Pokarier, shared his grief on Facebook.

‘That’s my baby that died,’ he wrote.

The Gold Coast-based family were heading down to Melbourne for Swift’s sold-out concert at the MCG.

The pop superstar kicked off the Australian leg of her Eras tour in Melbourne on Friday night with around 96,000 fans in attendance.

A GoFundMe page set up on Friday to raise money for the shattered family has raised more than $50,000 by Sunday night.

Mr Pokarier, the girl’s father, also shared a link to the GoFundMe. He said his family is ‘what I live for, I’m devastated’.

Tributes have also flowed from friends on social media.

Cheyenne Craig recalled how Mieka was learning to drive. ‘How is it fair that someone as sweet and beautiful as you was taken away from us so soon,’ she wrote on social media.

‘Mieka was the sweetest, most down to earth person you could’ve ever had the privilege of knowing, her stupid jokes that always made no sense but somehow always made you laugh… and the way we would spend the entire day talking about concerts.’

Ms Fox said the family is ‘astounded with the support. A lot of Swifties (are) checking in and sending beautiful messages of love… we’re really overwhelmed.’

She added that ‘The messages… will be read by the family when they’re ready.’

The sisters had been part of the Gold Coast Youth Theatre Academy.

Simone Medland also said Mieka was passionate about music and concerts.

‘I was so happy to see you happy living your life and going to concerts. You deserved to be happy and there are so many people that care about you,’ she said.

‘I wouldn’t trade these last few years I had with you for the world and I wish I could just see you once more. We had so many plans of things we needed to do together and it’ll always be my biggest regret that we never got the chance to.’

A report will be prepared for the coroner.